Turned The Corner Too Late
by ChubbyPony
Summary: Set right before Squib and Cody's bus scene. Alternate ending. Oneshot.
1. Turned The Corner Too Late

**A/N: **First 15/love fic I've written on here, so I hope you all like it. You won't see many, sadly I'm uninspired by 15/Love as of late. Probably all the re-runs. I need new episodes! But alas, I must wait, so for now, here's a sad little one-shot. Set right before Cody and Squib's memorable bus kiss.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of 15/Love. Owning Max Walker would be a pleasure, but it is not so.

* * *

"You gotta stop her!" Rick yelled, storming into the change room and nearly leaping on Squib's back. 

"What?" Squib asked with a laugh, "Stop who?"

"Cody! She's leaving." He gasped, grabbing Squib by the shoulders, "_Leaving,_ Squib!"

"Oh, she is not. She's been 'leaving' for months and it hasn't happened yet." Squib scoffed, "Now scram! I have the single biggest match of my life to get ready for."

"I'm telling you, she's leaving!" Rick insisted, stepping in front of Squib when he tried to reach his locker. "As in soon! And no one knows! Except you cause you're the only one I could find! She's leaving! Now! And you have to stop her!" He shouted almost angrily and crossed his arms, refusing to let Squib pass.

"Rick, god! It's gonna be fine. She isn't leaving _right_ now. We'll talk later. Now…shove off!" With a violent push, Squib pushed Rick out into the hall and locked the door behind him. "And if you're so desperate, go stop her yourself!" He yelled as an afterthought.

"Idiot." He muttered under his breath, pulling a clean shirt over his head. "Ok, now focus Squib, focus." Playing the biggest match of your life in a minute! Racquet in hand, he paced back and forth across the deserted change room, muttering about serves and forehands. Her face popped into his head about midway through the second time he'd paced back across the change room. Cody. She wasn't really leaving was she? Because he really didn't want her to. But then again, she'd been supposedly 'leaving' ever since her photo was published. That was months ago! He had plenty of time. He'd play the match, win, come back to Cascadia and then convince Cody to stay with him. Yes, that's how it would go down. Everything would be perfect. Pushing all thoughts but tennis out of his head, he resumed pacing, mentally listing his opponent's every weakness.

Stepping out onto the court, Squib grinned and waved his racquet at the exuberant crowd. He noted with satisfaction the number of 'Go Buzz Saw!' signs that littered the stands. He saw Adena and Tanis and gave them a little wave. Their response was a hefty thumbs-up. He caught President Bates' eye and gave him a confident smirk. Cascadia, here I come. He hardly paid any attention to the 'good luck' he received from his opponent as they shook hands, merely gave a weak shake and a muttered "You too." Stepping to his side of the court, Squib squared his shoulders and gripped his racquet, watching his opponent carefully. The ball flew through the air with a whoosh and the biggest match of Squib's life began.

"Winner: Buzz Saw Furlong." The announcer shouted to the screaming crowd. Throwing his hands in the air, Squib pumped his fists towards the crowd, victorious. Adena and Tanis were jumping up and down, squealing excitedly and even Cameron had a smile. Coach Gunderson looked pleased and President Bates' was obviously happy at victory Squib had scored for Cascadia. Typically, Cody's smiling face would beam along with the rest of them, but today, try as he might, Squib couldn't spot her happy smile, her bright red hair. His eyes widened. Rick couldn't be right…could he? He frantically searched the swarming crowd for Rick's face and his heart plummeted when he found it. He watched Rick frown and shake his head slowly, turning away. No, Squib panicked. Dropping his racquet with a clatter, he bolted out the door, calculating in his head. Buses usually came…oh, hell, he had no idea! He heard the doors click open behind him and the crowd surged into the hall, reporters calling his name. He didn't dare stop in his headstrong rush. He had to get there, he had to. Crossing his fingers, he prayed silently as he raced against the clock. Clambering to get through the metal gates at the front of Cascadia's long drive, he burst onto the road.

"_Because I can't stop thinking about you ok? Your stupid face, your stupid hair, your stupid laugh…and like you care…because I don't play tennis, I'm not Adena, so go ahead. Make fun of me I don't care." I had to do something. Moving as if guided by some invisible force, I found myself moving across the boat and taking her chin in my hands. _

His feet pounded on the asphalt and his legs began to burn, his lungs felt as though they would explode. He didn't stop.

"_It wasn't just luck…sometimes I wonder what I'd do without you." _

He had to get there. He had to tell her. She belonged with him. She couldn't leave, he couldn't take it.

"_Truce?"_

"_Ok, ok, truce." She agreed, smiling form below me. That invisible force took action again and I reached out to brush a stray hair from her face, my breath catching when she took hold of my arm. It was now or never…_

He was almost there. Just around that corner, he could make it. The match was forgotten, Cascadia was forgotten, everything but reaching Cody had been pushed right out of his mind.

"_A part of me doesn't want to leave this place."  
"That's funny because, uh…a part of me doesn't want you to go either."_

And it was true. He didn't want her to leave. Not now. Not him. It couldn't happen. It wouldn't, Squib decided. This was just like one of those romantic movie scenes. He'd burst around the corner and shout her name, just as she was boarding the bus. She'd whip around and throw herself into his arms and he'd tell her how much he loved her and she'd say the same and everything would be a perfect. Feeling confident, Squib puffed out his chest and burst around the corner triumphantly, opening his mouth to shout her name. He widened his arms for her embrace, preparing to shout. He turned the corner just in time.

To see the bus pull away.


	2. Turned From The Water Too Late

**A/N:** Just a short one chapter continuation I was inspired to write. I guess one it's sort of like a two-shot.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own 15/Love. I would love too, but I don't.

* * *

"She's here!" Adena sang out, bounding into the open and grabbing at Tanis' wrist, dragging her off the couch.

"She's early!" Tanis shouted, running after Adena.

"She's here." Cameron repeated, more sympathetically to Squib, as he stood and went to greet 'she' for himself.

"She's early." Squib muttered, but he stood.

"You're coming?" Cameron asked hopefully.

"Nah, I'm hiding." Squib turned on his heel and headed in the opposite direction.

"You should tell her!" Cameron shouted after his retreating back, shaking his head.

He should tell her, he just couldn't, Squib told himself, tossing a tennis ball at the ceiling, letting it drop to the floor without catching it. He'd been too late. Two months later and he still thought about that day all the time. How he'd sat on the bench for two hours in the cold, staring down the road, hoping in some insane little corner of his brain that maybe she'd come back down the road. How he'd been accepted back into Cascadia, then nearly kicked out again for his lackluster performance. How he'd waited everyday for a month to hear the familiar click of her camera before he'd finally given up hope. But, he thought with a spark of hope, she was Cody. She was Cody and he was Squib. _They_ were _Cody and Squib._ They belonged together. Maybe it wasn't too late. Sitting up, he gave a half-smile at the picture beside his bed and began to formulate a plan.

* * *

Ok, he'd been throwing rocks at her window for 15 minutes. Either she was a really heavy sleeper or she wasn't coming out.

"Do you have any idea how horribly cliché it is to throw rocks at a girl's window?" Cody's voice startled him and he dropped the rock to the grass, turning to where she leaned, smirking, on the porch rail.

"I was desperate." He held out a hand, "Come for a walk?" Cody looked hesitant. Crossing her arms, she stepped off the porch to follow him, but didn't reach out for his hand. Ok, that didn't go exactly as planned, Squib admitted, but everything would be fine. Nervously, he fiddled with his thumbs as he led Cody along the path to the beach.

"The beach. Another Cody and Squib cliché." Cody muttered and Squib grimaced. This was _not_ going well.

"Sor-ry." It came out a little more sarcastic than he intended, but Squib was hurt.

"No," Cody said in a sigh, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Her words sounded sincere enough, but her comment had made Squib nervous. Cody flopped cross-legged to the sand and he followed suit.

"So, why are we here?" Cody asked, but she knew the answer. Cringing and wrapping her arms around her knees, refusing to make eye contact with Squib, she waited.

"Ok, first of all, I wanted to say sorry for never saying good-bye." Squib took a deep breath and gave her some time to answer, mostly just so he could get control of his racing nerves.

"It's fine. I didn't exactly give anyone the chance." Cody dropped her chin to her knees and shrugged.

"Ok and second, I wanted you to know that there's something I've wanted to tell you for a while and I was going to tell you before you left, but the bus was already gone and-"

"Just say what you're going to say Squib." Cody interrupted in a clipped tone. Squib was a little unnerved, but he took a deep breath and spit it out anyway.

"I like you Cody. As more than a friend, I have for a long time." Closing his eyes, Squib grinned. The hard part was over. Now, she'd tell him how much she liked him too and she'd come home and everything could go back to normal. Cody wasn't saying anything.

"Cody?"

"You're too late Squib." She whispered, refusing to turn towards him.

"What?" He managed to utter in total disbelief. It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

"I met someone in New York."

"But Cody, we're-"  
"Cody and Squib? No, we're not! You're you and I'm me and we are separate people!"

"But I thought…with all those almost kisses and…I thought you liked me."

"I did, but then you weren't there." Cody sounded apologetic.

"I would have been if I had known!" Squib shouted.

"You did know, I made sure of that! I know Rick told you."

"I tried to get there!" Squib wasn't lying really. He had tried. After his match.

"Don't lie to me. I waited for an hour before the bus came, you never came." Cody said bitterly.

"It was the biggest match of my life!" Squib shouted defensively.

"I shouldn't have come here. I knew this would happen." Cody stood.

"What was I supposed to do Cody? Blow it off?" Squib was laying the guilt on pretty thick.

"You know you would have. If I had been important enough." Her words punctured his heart. All the way through, leaving a gapping, black hole. But, with a jolt of reality, he realized that maybe she was right. But he wasn't ready to let go of her yet. He cared too much. She was more important _now._

"I love you Cody." He called as a last resort, watching her stop. He waited hopefully. She didn't turn around.

"It's too late Squib. The bus already left the station…and it's not coming back." Running both his hands through his hair, Squib stared at the water and bit his lip, trying to hold back the tears. Part of him still believed that when he turned around, she would be waiting to jump into his arms and mumbled apologies into his chest.

Cody stopped at the edge of the beach and turned to look at him. He was staring at the water, blurred by her tears. She knew she loved him, she would never stop, but it was too late. Unless he turned around. She waited with bated breath. She knew that if he turned around in time, she would jump into his arms and mutter apologies into his chest. But if he didn't turn around, she was leaving.

He turned around just in time.

To watch her walk off the beach…and out of his life…forever.


End file.
